A Journey to Absolute Zero Through HISE

Updated on Dec 01, 2014

On November 12, Nobel Laureate Wolfgang Ketterle took Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) students on a journey to the lowest possible temperature – Absolute Zero, where atoms are slowed to a near stand-still. “Absolute Zero is defined as slowing atoms such that they give off no heat,” Ketterle explained to an overflowing room of students and teachers. It was Ketterle’s ability to trap and cool atoms at Absolute Zero that earned him the Nobel Prize in 2001.

Professor Ketterle was at NPU in Xi'an, China, as part of the Honeywell Initiative for Science & Engineering (HISE), expressing not only his passion for science but dedication to hard work. “If you want to do something big, you must put all of your energy into it, and make your effort the most important thing in your life,” he advised the students. “People who work hard have more luck than people who don’t work hard.”

“As a global company, we believe the key to the future is held in the hands of our younger generations,” said Wesley Luo, VP and GM of Honeywell Technology Solutions (HTS) China, and sponsor of the HISE in Xi’an. “Programs like HISE play an important role in cultivating our global innovative talent.”

HISE is managed by Honeywell Hometown Solutions and is presented at top universities in China, Czech Republic, India, Mexico and other emerging nations. Since 2006, HISE has been delivered 42 times to 28 schools worldwide.